Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley Launch Fundraising Campaign

Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley of The Vampire Diaries are the latest CW celebrities to launch a fundraising campaign through Represent. In fact, just prior to their launch, Robbie Amell of the CW’s The Flash, also launched a Represent campaign to support the organization, Camp Hometown Heroes. On July 17, the stars of The Vampire Diaries‘ campaign, featuring the two actor’s, went live with a design chosen from a number that were submitted by fans.

Somerhalder and Wesley announced back in May that they would be launching a fundraising campaign in order to raise money to attempt to make the Earth a better place. On May 23, the two actors posted a video to Facebook in which they asked their fans to submit their own design ideas. The fans were given a deadline of June 1, 2015 to submit an idea which could be used on a shirt for their first ever Represent campaign. Their request was for a design which both women and men could wear, and a design which could be worn for multiple purposes. The one request was that the design include both Somerhalder and Wesley’s faces as a way to keep them with the wearer always.

On Facebook on July 17, both Wesley and Somerhalder once more posted a video to announce the launch of their joint fundraising venture. As part of the post to Somerhalder’s Facebook page, the actor included this message for fans, “Wear it, sleep in it- we’re always with you. If we see you in public we will definitely come say hello;) Help us change the world and look good doing it!”

The video of the actor’s shows the two introducing themselves on the set of The Vampire Diaries. Although, as the two point out, it is not the best angle of the set, as it appears to truly be “behind the scenes.” Wesley and Somerhalder mention that their fans came through with designs and they have chosen the winner. Both of the actor’s are wearing the new shirts in the video, as they kicked off their official Represent campaign.

The winning design was created by Kathryn Kij and is the men’s first ever official joint shirt. On the shirt is a picture of both Somerhalder and Wesley with the words “Blood Brothers since 1864” underneath. There are six available shirt options for people interested in purchasing one.

This Represent campaign had a goal of 1,000 shirts, which was surpassed by the start of the second day of the campaign. Even with the goal having already been met, there is still plenty of time for fans of the actor’s to get in on the action. This charity fundraising campaign is scheduled to run until August 1, 2015.

The launch of Somerhalder and Wesley’s fundraising campaign on Represent is the first from both of the actors together. While this is the duos first fundraising attempt jointly, Somerhalder is well known for his charity work and his many fundraising efforts. Much of his charity work can be found on his organization’s page, the Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF).